Cravings (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novella) (Queen Betsy Novella) (The World of the Lupi Novella) (Moon Series Novella)

Book Description

Four favorite authors present their favorite characters in all-new tales of bloodlust, appetites that must be sated again and again, and the passion that feeds them.

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"All-new sensuous stories from four of today's most provocative authors. Laurell K. Hamilton MaryJanice Davidson Eileen Wilks Rebecca York Four favorite authors present their favorite characters in all-new tales of bloodlust, appetites that must be sated again and again, and the passion that feeds them."

Customer Reviews:

Cravings.......2007-09-05

I really enjoyed this book. I"ve read all of Laurell Hamiltons books and am now starting on MaryJanice Davidson. I was disappointed to find that there was no continuation of the other two writers characters as I found them to be very interesting and would have liked to read more about them.

Incubus Dreams.......2007-08-22

The Laurell K. Hamilton contribution to this collection is taken directly from her book Incubus Dreams. What a rip off for Anita Blake fans.

Summer reading.......2007-06-10

Great little collection of short stories to read whilst enjoying a relaxing summer day. No great earth-shaking revelations or deep philosophy - just a fun read.

Cravings is great.......2007-01-28

I loved the book. The stories were well writtin. I have the complete set of Anita Blake series by Ms. Hamilton, so I knew her story would be great. The other 3 stories were great as well.

Three All-Stars and one Bench Warmer.......2006-10-16

Great read! Three wonderful authors: MaryJanice Davidson, Eileen Wilks and Rebecca York. Also, the late great Laurell K. Hamilton whose name alone used to make us want to pick up the book. Alas, that is so not the case anymore.

In "Dead Girls Don't Dance" (MaryJanice Davidson) you have a young vampire who has just run into the man of her teenage dreams. It's cute, funny, you fall in love with the folks in this story. I want to see more of Ms. Andrea Mercer. I hope she writes another story about her.

"Originally Human" (Eileen Wilks) is a bit different. Once again we have characters we can identify with and like. A very likeable Molly finds an injured man and tries to help. Not much of a hook but I don't want to give away the surprises in this very good story.

"Burning Moon" (Rebecca York) has a werewolf tracking his wife's killer and finding a lot more than he bargained for. Some good (new) werewolf family information. This is another one I hope with be continued.

Oh, let's face it: all three of these stories (especially the first two) are just so darn good you don't want them to end. I truly hope the authors read this review some day and it encourages them to write more on the characters. I just loved 'em all.

Guess I should say something about Hamilton's "Blood Upon My Lips". Let's see, it's the new and extremely UNimproved Anita Blake wanting to have sex. (Yawn) Oh wait. When DOESN'T the new and UNimproved Anita Blake want to have sex? With anybody. Or anything. Lordy, the family pets won't be safe if this keeps up. "Hide the collie, maw, that freak Blake is hanging around outside again." If Hamilton insists on Blake screwing ANYthing available I wish she'd be a little quieter about it. The constant screaming has got to be getting on everyone's nerves. It's certainly getting on mine. Oh, and if there are any of the OLD Blake fans out there -- you remember Anita Blake VAMPIRE HUNTER? Well, that Blake died a couple of books ago and some unattractive, whiney, Valley girl from Hell has taken her place.

Please God. Let "Edward" show up fully armed and take us all out of our misery. Also, make sure he shoots first and asks questions later. If not, the Valley Girl will certainly attempt to molest him and anyone he has with him. Where the heck is Otto when you need him?

Finally, yes buy or borrow the book. It is well worth it. Just skip the first story and enjoy yourself with the remaining three.

Average customer rating:

Read the first section and skip the rest.
Let her rest in peace
A good companion to Rebecca
interesting read
Expect a mystery novel, but not answers

Rebecca's Tale
Sally Beauman
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British Detectives | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 006117467X
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Book Description

April 1951. It has been twenty years since the death of Rebecca, the hauntingly beautiful first wife of Maxim de Winter, and twenty years since Manderley, the de Winter family's estate, was destroyed by fire. But Rebecca's tale is just beginning.

Colonel Julyan, an old family friend, receives an anonymous package concerning Rebecca. An inquisitive young scholar named Terence Gray appears and stirs up the quiet seaside hamlet with questions about the past and the close ties he soon forges with the Colonel and his eligible daughter, Ellie. Amid bitter gossip and murky intrigue, the trio begins a search for the real Rebecca and the truth behind her mysterious death.

Customer Reviews:

Read the first section and skip the rest........2007-09-08

The two stars are for the first quarter of the book, easily the best. It's told from the point of view of an old-school English gentleman, a friend of Rebecca's who was too proper to admit his desire for her even to himself. His characterization is very well done and the tone almost perfect.

Unfortunately, the rest of the story, told from the viewpoints of other characters, completely undercuts the strong beginning with anachronistic attitudes.

The worst was Rebecca's diary, which assures us that despite living in Edwardian times, Rebecca was a thoroughly modern 21st-century feminist, who spontaneously came to the same conclusions that Simone de Beauvoir and Germaine Greer and others took decades and a great deal of idea exchange to reach. And what does this modern feminist woman do? She seduces Max de Winter into marrying her so that she can get his estate. Gee, how liberated, using your body to get men to give you money. Even though she works hard to inspire him with lust for her, when he actually feels it, she starts to regard him as a potential rapist. She makes no effort to be faithful to him and considers herself to be considerate because she chooses lovers who physically resemble him so that if she gets pregnant, it won't cause him embarrassment.

I only read the first couple of pages of the final quarter of the book, which was told from the point of view of the proper old Englishman's daughter. It quickly became clear that she was going to be super-liberated too, and I couldn't take one more page of it.

Let her rest in peace.......2007-09-06

Several attempts to revive the mystery around "Rebecca" and free-ride on her posthumous fame have failed, see "Mrs. de Winter" by Susan Hill or "The Other Rebecca" by the otherwise eclectic author/translator Maureen Freely. I, too, accounted for the numerous non-buyers of these works, mainly to spare myself the disappointment of an artificial lighting of an intentionally dim novel, one of my youth's favorites. But Beauman's résumé and her selection by the Du Maurier estate sounded promising. Her book was not to be a mere infusion or even a sequel to the old Rebecca, but a differentiated look at her life story. She made good on that promise, though to a bigger extent than I bargained for.

The book is divided into four parts, each of which represents memories of Rebecca and dealings with her death 20 years earlier by differently affected individuals, taking the reader on a scavenger hunt that is only moderately exciting. As a surprise, Rebecca gets the chance to voice herself in the third part, based on a previously found journal written in the form of a letter to a figure which I won't reveal for spoiler reasons. There she dishes about her adolescence and her irrepressible ascent to A-list socialite. Silly as it all is, this chapter occupies the first place on the quality scale of Beauman's writing chops, as demonstrated in this book. Over-the-top emotions aside, the language is fresh without being too flowery and offers a rare, relatively engrossing glimpse into the state of mind and heart of the legendary beauty. That's right, she had feelings, too, but those got hurt early on, so that she spent the rest of her brief life brewing a complicated mix of revenge and true love, independence and married wealth (Scarlett O'Hara sends her best).

The other three chapters describe the obsessive research, or rather long obituaries, by two minor and one non-existent character from the original book. This was as boring as it sounds, since Beauman, instead of at least crafting a good (as in less verbose) crime story out of it, spins what little those folks had to say into endless loops and reflections, which presumably should have familiarized the reader with the English countryside nobility, but just felt like work. It was cumbersome to filter out the few clues relevant to the story because, like some more needlessly added characters, they could not leave absolutely anything unsaid. What was left to the reader's imagination in the original had created a phantom figure; dismantling it now, and in such a predictable fashion, only created a cardboard. Rebecca was not only unbelievably beautiful and desired by everyone between six and 106, now we learn what she looked like. With that admitted curiosity quenched, one could have let her be, but oh no, she was also naturally fluent in French, wore Chanel, was a connoisseur of wine and fine cuisine, while of course slim as a deer, and remains as enigmatic as a tabloid fixture. And I'm not even getting into the degrees of kinship and sexual orientations Beauman imposes; let's just say that they would give both a genealogist and a TV soap producer migraines.

In sharp contrast to the gabbiness of minor characters, the famously nameless heroine of the original story was dismissed within a few pages as a plain Jane whom no one remembers anyway. Betraying the style and class of the original so early on, this pathetic portrayal should have alerted me to invest my time elsewhere, but principle alone kept me from quitting. An intriguing path to a reunion with crazy ol' Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca's mean governess with a crush on her, ends in anticlimax as well. At the end of a long book one is none the smarter, as far as Rebecca is concerned, except for one confirmed truth: making a new fable out of old ones is an easy temptation which, like so many others, should be resisted.

A good companion to Rebecca.......2007-04-08

I randomly came across "Rebecca" in my amazon recommendations one day, and went to the library to find it. I absolutely loved the book, and wanted more. I came back to amazon and found "Rebecca's Tale", which I then borrowed from the library, and read it immediately after "Rebecca."

I feel that this novel stands on its own two feet - it tells a story in and of itself, and I wonder how I might have reacted to it had I never read "Rebecca." I probably would have run out and read it.

The writing in the book is very strong, and each character is quite distinctive. I must say I did not like the second Mrs. de Winter much in this novel, when I felt sympathy for her in the original. The voices of the book are clear, though, and I spent quite a bit of time guessing at who was hiding what.

This book will not give you answers to the questions that are left upon reading the original. I found that somewhat frustrating as I yearn for closure, even though I know the author didn't want to spoil the wonderful mystery that du Maurier has spun. I, personally, would love to see a quality prequel written, perhaps by Diane Setterfield, but that of course would provide the reader with a real framework of who Rebecca was.

While the novel is well-written, it does seem to drag on in some places. I found myself skimming paragraphs occasionally, trying to get to the "good part" that I knew was coming. The author has a good grasp of literary misdirection, and she will lead you one way, then pull a u-turn and lead you somewhere completely different, much like du Maurier.

Overall I think it is a very good book, but I strongly suggest reading it immediately after reading "Rebecca" to truly grasp all of the small details that you might otherwise miss.

interesting read.......2007-03-25

I should first say that I'm not a diehard fan of Rebecca (though I do quite like it), so my response to Rebecca's Tale may be different from truly devoted fans of the original novel.

The novel is divided into 4 parts, each with a different narrator (I won't name them here in case that counts as a spoiler!). Beauman does a good job of giving each character his / her own distinct voice; some writers attempt to narrate with different characters, but everyone sounds the same-- that's not the case here. Chalk one up for Beauman's style.

I think what I liked most about Beauman's novel was the themes she chose to pick up and elaborate on from Rebecca: death sealed in persons (along with sterility), the life in nature, the notion of place (and breaking away from it), and a few others. Explorations of sexuality are also more explicit in this novel; even nature becomes almost overwhelmingly fecund. The novel still hovers at the question of who Rebecca was in life, but it also tries to pick apart who and what she has become in death.

I should emphasize that this is NOT a retelling of Rebecca but a "further-telling" of, perhaps, Manderly itself and the lives of all it touches. It's not a remake, and it's overall not an attempt to explain (its weakest moments are, in fact, when it DOES try to explain, and that's why I give it 4 stars, along with the fact that it can be rather obvious in its "mysteries" at some points).

Recommended, especially after rereading Rebecca.

Expect a mystery novel, but not answers .......2007-03-19

I read Sally Beauman's Rebecca's Tale after it was reissued in trade paperback under the Harper-Collins "History" imprint. This line of books has sought to capitalize on the recent renaissance of "revisionist" fiction and sequels to popular and classic works alike, from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (Janet Aylmer's "Darcy's Story") to Bronte's Jane Eyre (Emma Tennant's "Thornfield Hall"). I understand publishers' interest in such works: they revisit the characters and plotlines of well-loved books that have proven themselves worldwide bestsellers; from a business perspective, a re-working of any Austen, Bronte, or Du Maurier novel is, to borrow the phraseology of an 80's teen flick, a "sure thing." Both publishers and potential readers of this type of novel should be aware that there is a good chance many readers will find literary reworkings of classic novels at best unsatisfactory and, at worst, sacrilegious. It's analogous to screen adaptations of classic and/or bestselling novels--potential viewership is high, but so is the chance that those viewers will object strenuously to perceived inaccuracies or misrepresentations of the original author's work.

One might think that Sally Beauman has a better chance for success, considering that the main character of her novel is one who was developed in Du Maurier's original work only through hearsay and piecemeal deductions strung together by a third-party narrator. Yet readers have conjured up their own vision of what Rebecca de Winter would have been like had Du Maurier introduced her to us in the proverbial flesh, and Beauman's characterization may or may not be what they had in mind. Interestingly, Bauman does NOT introduce us to Rebecca, either--in fact, RT makes use of the same oblique characterization techniques as Du Maurier's novel, offering insight into Rebecca via the "off-scene" media of journal entries and third party personal testimonies.

RT is a piece of detective fiction. Since I am not a frequent reader of mysteries, I can't say whether the novel fulfills all the expectations of that genre, however, RT certainly pulls at the reader with the intensity of a "who-done-it," and at many points comes close to succeeding. The writer deluges us with hundreds, indeed potentially thousands of details--of family lineages and ancestry, of affairs hinted at or revealed outright, of paternity disputes, childhood traumas, "mysterious" would-be suicides, and dozens of personal testimonies, each potentially unreliable or tainted by natural human bias. Much of this information is compelling enough to draw the reader along, producing a "page-turner" of sorts; I don't use this in the conventional sense of a thrilling or wildly entertaining novel but, rather, in a more literal fashion. The reader has invested a bit of time and effort in wading through all these details, so it's only natural that we should feel compelled to get to the "good part," the natural denouement that imparts a feeling of tied-up ends and narrative coherency. And it is a relief when we learn anything concrete at all--for example, Terence Gray's origins and motivations.

Trouble is, as some have already noted, the ending is something of an anti-climax, and it is not at all clear that the aforementioned legions of details have resolved themselves enough for the book to end.

(**SEMI-SPOILER*) It's difficult for me to pin down why the ending feels so tacked-on; on the Rebecca mystery front, it may have something to do with incomplete journal entries and unconvincing and faintly ludicrous interviews with a character introduced (or at least brought forward) at the last minute. A character who has (understandably) been obsessed with Rebecca's family ancestry abruptly gives up the hunt and shrugs his shoulders over the whole thing. On the Julyan family front (relating to those characters Beauman has made up), professions of love seems to come "out of left field" and appear thrown in just to elicit one narrator's life epiphanies.

(*Semi-SPOILER over now*)

In terms of characterization, Beauman's Rebecca is sufficiently arresting; I think the reader gets an idea of why Du Maurier's other characters would have had such strong reactions to her. Rebecca's journal entries are written in a style completely different from the detective-procedural, straightforward, nit-picky details of the other three narrators' sections. Rebecca's journals include the most self-consciously "literary" language, with the most artful arrangements of phrases, and the most powerful. The only thing I dodn't buy was that a woman who had had no formal education could write so eloquently, although the influence of Shakespeare cannot be underestimated, I suppose.

I think you will learn nothing about Maxim de Winter that will contribute to your understanding of either Du Maurier's character or Beauman's version. Beauman does, however, subvert expectations of the second Mrs. de Winter in way that is sure to displease literal-minded readers who viewed the original novel's character as a reliable and an emotionally transparent (thus, sympathetic) narrator.

The homosexuality plotlines should surprise no one who has read any nonfiction work of or about Du Maurier, who was herself actively bisexual. No, Beauman has done well to weave the subject into her characters' lives, however, she does so to an unnecessary degree; I believe having four homosexual and bisexual characters overemphasizes the Du Maurier autobiographical connection, and detracts from the one character whose bisexuality actually contributes to our understanding of the de Winter mystery-tragedy.

Beauman has an easy, able style that is largely unobtrusive during Colonel Julyan's, Terence Gray's, and Ellie Julyan's narrative sections. The bulk of evidence to be got through is too large--some might say unwieldy--to allow for any authorial flourishes, most of which Beauman saves for Rebecca's section. Beauman or her editor is a bit too enamored of parentheses as a stylistic quirk. And, rather exasperatingly, Beauman's narrators preface almost every event of import with statements such as "of course, I wasn't to know that yet," or "I would later find out how significant this was, but at first I had no idea; let's go back to when I had no idea."

In all, RT is an engrossing mystery, and will certainly keep you awake nights (or night) trying to string together the trails of evidence presented. But I think you may find yourself, as I have, nursing an uneasy conviction that we have still not gotten the whole story. Perhaps this is what Beauman wishes--for the ambivalence surrounding Rebecca's life and death to continue, even after all the evidence has been weighed and all the testifiers have had their say.

Note: The Harper-Collins trade edition includes a critical essay by author Sally Beauman.

12-Step Horror Stories: True Tales of Misery, Betrayal, and Abuse in AA, NA, and 12-Step Treatment

Average customer rating:

If you did not think AA was a cult before, you will after reading this!
The outside sponsorship system is not the program
AA: These stories of AA are not rare
It's all YOU.
Hits the nail on the head . Good job.

12-Step Horror Stories: True Tales of Misery, Betrayal, and Abuse in AA, NA, and 12-Step Treatment

Manufacturer: See Sharp Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Substance Abuse | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Twelve-Step Programs | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1884365248

Customer Reviews:

If you did not think AA was a cult before, you will after reading this! .......2007-09-12

While this book is an excellent compilation of "12-Step survivor" (aka HORROR) stories, and proves beyond all dopubt the CULTNESS OF AA, the only thing wrong with the book's content is that the story submitters kept their victimiizing source(s) confidential (names changed to protect the GULITY!). This book overall is like shining a light on the cockroach infested "fellowship" that AA/12-Step groups are, and unfortunately, the victimizers alluded to in these stories (true as they may be!) are still going to be allowed to perpetuate their victimization on to other unsuspecting sources due to NOT BEING ACCURATELY NAMED (It's like a bunch of child molest victims coming together to tell their stories under the cover of a book, and the child molester is STILL UNNAMED, and therefore is allowed TO CONTINUE SEXUALLY ABUSE!). While I applaud the book's effort, and the story submitters whose works make this book possible, the THOUGHT that the victimizing 12-Step entities and people referred to in these pages, are going unaccountable for their criminal behavior, and psychological torture is unforgiveable!

The outside sponsorship system is not the program .......2007-07-19

The book reads true but labeled wrong,it Confuses the program with the outside promoted sponsorship system craze around, which is religious, and godly in itself, or lets just say lacks the humility needed here.
The program is about, no person, place or thing that can relive another but a "Being" of ones understanding that could and would if sought. It also states that if someone else does not understand it is best to go alone.
Through the actions of the promoted outside sponsorship system that clearly does not agree with the simple program is what this book reflects not the program.
This book is not a lie, it's a reality that carries a lot of truth pointed in the wrong direction. I wonder if a lie would be better instead of discouraging another through fear for reasons of money publications.(The book price is high)
If any individual does not learn how to decipher the truth within, they will easily be distracted and persuaded by others, which many are, and be no better off with this book than the outside sponsorship system, all which has one thing in common - It lives off of a fear base distraction and Promotion rather than letting one as LIVE and LET LIVE.
Why does one always has to but something down to make others feel better?
Try to understand rater than be understood,look a little closer.
Note: The outside sponsorship system is not mentioned in the 164 pages of the program, Steps or Traditions but was needed and used in the outside hospitals.
How did sponsorship get out of the hospitals and into the program is an interesting point.

AA: These stories of AA are not rare.......2007-06-27

I was in a rehab for 28 days 18 years ago. I got sober. I left the rehab and was told that I would surely die if I took another drink and if I didn't go to AA, I would surely take another drink. As it happens, I did not take another drink. For the first few months, I listened to the group-think, and I admit bothered me. I was afraid if I didn't keep coming back - I would drink again, so I did what I was told. I was full of fear of drinking, and I was told I was powerless to stop it so I needed meetings.

I was 13th stepped and told it was my fault. I stayed and was harassed over it. My sponsor told me it was time for my 4th step, and I admitted to having been an abused child. She glibly remarked that I must have done something to deserve it. I never went to another meeting after that and that was 16 years ago. Believe me, the dry drunk thing is a myth. Since I left AA I have not only stayed sober but have built an impressive resume and have a wonderful personal life full of love, joy, and serenity. And my supportive spouse has been more helpful than 90 in 90 ever was. Take what you like and leave the rest? Absolutely, just leave 12 step meetings.

The problems in AA, many confronted in the book, are problems with AA itself and its structure. It is a group-think cult. It is possible to get sober and stay sober without it, and if you do a little research, you will quickly see that it harms more people than it helps. Do not believe that AA's success rate is 75-95%. It is not. Only the people who stay in AA are counted, and they are counted several times. Check out spontaneous recovery, and you will see that millions of people have not been helped by AA.

I often say that I have never wanted to drink as much as I did after I went to a meeting. Why? Well, this abuse is incredibly real, and I could tell hundreds of stories. These stories are not rare. If you look at the reviews who are negative about the book and pro-AA carefully, you will see that the reviews exactly reflect the problem with AA - it is a group-think cult that keeps members because they are browbeaten into low self-esteem and believe that if they are not at meetings then they will surely drink again. AA is a system that it is difficult to criticize because if you do then that is precisely why you should go to AA. You can't win - say something critical about AA and its because you're an alcoholic. And also keep in mind - alcoholics remain sick for a lifetime. Read these stories, and you will see AA is part of that sickness. Without AA, I am much better off and can fully love the joy of sobriety and its gifts.

Trust me, if you do not want to drink because you accept that it is bad for you, and you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, you will not drink. If you firmly know that alcohol is destroying your life and you commit yourself to not drinking, you will accept that you are not a powerless loser who has no control. You can do as I have and stay sober if you choose to save yourself, and you will not have to accept AA abuse. I am free - free of AA, and I know that I do not drink. This book is absolutely real and honest. I've seen these stories happen.

It's all YOU........2007-06-09

12 step is a cult?

I can only speak for myself. I find myself in a room with a catholic, a jew, a buddhist, and some agnostics, with only one purpose; to recover from a deadly difficulty.

A cult is an istitution that imposes its laws an views onto its members, and make them feel guilty if they choose to do otherwise. In recovery, I have been told by my sponsor that if I want to explore other options, if I want to go act out, then go right ahead. Learn from it, and if you want to come back, the door is open. The only requirement in this program is that I am absolutely honest. Is that too much too ask? Well, at the beginning, maybe, but that is the goal.

The second issue about people being abusive in the program, is the 12-step group to blame? If I decide to be abusive and immoral and join some institution, company, church, is the institution at fault? Obviously those people didnt' fulfill yet the only requirement of the program: to be absolutely honest and open minded.

My sponsor never imposed anything onto me, but guided me into learning from my mistakes. The day I decide to quit, he'll offer me his best wishes.

If you find that you can recover with medicine, therapy, or religion, good for you! I'm very happy for you. If you already tried these and ran out of options, the this would be another one. Take it or leave it, live and let live.

Hits the nail on the head . Good job........2007-04-14

First off let me say that I am not an atheist in that many people who criticize A.A. are labeled as "non-believers." Secondly, there is a very negative view of Christianity in general within A.A. and of traditional religion for the most part by A.A.er's. I do believe in God and I am a very devout Catholic Christian and have been most of my life.

Insofar as the stories go, they hit the nail right on the head and as one reviewer stated that the occurances of what is written about in this book are not rare, in fact from my experience they happened all the time and at most meetings. Things most people could not even imagine go on in A.A. all the time and at most meetings. I have seen female new-comers manipulated by predator men in A.A. I have seen new-comers controlled to the point of having a nervous breakdown and I want to reiterate this is common place in AA. I do have to say that I did meet some people in the meetings who ended up being very good friends but this was not because of AA so much as I had some things in common with some of the people that I met.

I was in A.A. for over 10 years and very devout to the 12-step programs and stayed sober for a long time. I was a secretary for a Saturday night meeting for years, I was an intergroup rep for the local chapter and I have been on numerous 12-step calls (12-step calls are intervention meetings to help someone who wants to stop drinking). I attended no less then 3 meetings a week and worked all 12 steps with my sponsor to the hilt. My true drug of choice was alcohol and so when I when I joined A.A. I felt that I fit right in. During the time that I was in A.A. I remember seeing people who were told by "oldtimers" to throw out their psych meds and if they didn't then they were not working the program. I remember one man locked another man in his house and refused to let him go until he admitted to the other man, who was his sponsor that he was "powerless and sick." I have seen men who were in such bad and desperate shape being humiliated and berated in front a group of a 100 A.A. members at one time to the point of devastation. I remember once, a young man spoke at a podium meeting, when he spoke at the podium he started his comments by saying that his had mother died earlier that day. After he said that his mother died, the people in the room erupted into laughter and the man was told to shutup and sitdown if he was not going to talk "program and get honest." But the one thing that really stuck in my mind and still does to this day is something that I heard one evening when I was at a meeting. There was a young woman who had been attending this meeting on Saturday night that I attended on regular basis and she really had a lot of emotional issues and was very unhappy most the time. I remember thinking at the time that she probably needed more help then just attending AA. Well one evening one of the "gurus" at that meeting by the name of George approached her after the meeting and offered her his "help." Well yeah he helped her alright, he helped her right into his bed after a period of some good stong manipulation. When she became despondent and very upset about having slept with this creep, she called him and told him that she felt like killing herself, with that this "guru" handed her a gun and said, "go for it." Now she shared this in a meeting while this idiot was sitting next to her. What really bothered me was that not one person in the room even so much as batted an eyelid when she shared this with the group. No one spoke up or said anything. I remember at the time that I was irrate and this guy made me sick, I said to myself, Is anyone !" After the meeting I approached this guy and said, "why would you offer someone a gun who has told you that they want to kill themselves?" He then looked at me and laughed and said, "well the gun wasn't loaded." From that point on he walked away to look for another victim and I began to question A.A. I ended up becoming fed up with A.A. and eventually left.

I had to laugh about this book because anyone who has spent anytime in A.A. knows that these kind of stories are true. The story that I just related and the ones in this book are only the tip of the iceberg.

I have a theory as to why AA is this way and why so much abuse goes on. I think it is because of the program itself. It starts by telling everyone that they have to admit that they are "powerless over alcohol and their life is unmanagable and that they are in full flight from reality." I began to wonder after being in AA for several years and being more miserable in life then I ever was when I was drinking how it would help anyone to be told that they were 'sick" "in denial" a derelict and mentally deranged outcast from society, which is exactly what A.A. instills in its members. That the member is not "normal" and that they are very "different" and incapable of understanding the "normie" or the normal world. What other type of therapy would tell someone who is looking for help a message like this? Someone reaches out for help then they are told by a therapist that they are a complete powerless loser? No therapist that I know of would take this approach to deal with any kind of problem that would affect someone. A.A. does works for a few people in spite of itself. Being with a group of people who are all attempting to live life without drugs and alcohol is a powerful motivator in and of itself, I doubt that the philosophy of A.A. by itself really does much in the way of help for a heavy drinker or drug abuser.

Another thing that bothered me at the time was that I was told things in A.A. that I found out later to be completely false. For example, the lie that most people who are 'alcoholics" will die or go insane without A.A. and even the ones who wind up in A.A. don't have that much of a chance of staying sober either. In fact I was told by a woman who had been in A.A. for 20 years one day that most won't make it. She said to me, "most of us are going to die with or without the program, we are a sick bunch and most of us will die from this disease." At the time I believed what she said because I was younger and more naive. But as I began to question the A.A. philosophy, I found out that this is not always the case. In fact I found out completely the opposite and that most people with drug and alcohol problems will eventually quit or moderate on their own and most people don't die from "alcoholism" or drug abuse. This is what psychology calls as "maturing out." Most people will eventually grow out of alcohol abuse or wise up. Few do go on to die or ruin their lives completely from abusing substances. I can think of numerous people that i have known from college and high school who by all definitions were alcoholic and most of them have either stopped drinking altogether without the help of A.A. or have moderated their drinking by making choices in lives that were healthier and inconsistent with a life of substance abuse. In my life I chose to take up some hobbies that I enjoyed and went back to Church. Both of these things made alcohol abuse completely unappealing and inconsistent with what I wanted to accomplish in life. Now I am married to a beautiful woman, I have a great kid I serve my country and love my career, and God is more then just some vague Higher Power.

In the final analysis, at least in my opinion is that alcohol abuse is a moral choice, there is no disease called "alcoholism" and that we are all responsible for the choices that we make. Yes, there maybe those who have a proclivity to abuse alcohol or drugs but I fail to see how that proves an inability to control ones desire to get drunk and to do the right thing as opposed to being habitually drunk. I don't remember anyone ever forcing me to take get drunk. I don't ever remember the bottle magically floating up to my lips and forcing me to take a drink. I do remember making a conscious choice of wanting to get hammered numerous times. I do remember when I chose not to drink anymore and took full responsibility for my actions and behavior. I remember looking in the mirror one day and saying, "I got myself here and it is my choice as to whether I want to continue to live like this, or to grow up and make better moral choices with my life. There is no disease there is only willful misconduct. From that day on my life has never been the same and thank God I am no longer brainwashed by A.A.

The New Rector (Tales from Turnham Malpas)

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Tales from Turham Malpas

The New Rector (Tales from Turnham Malpas)
Rebecca Shaw
Manufacturer: Orion mass market paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0752827502

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Tales from Turham Malpas.......2006-10-27

In the village of Turham Malpas in Great Britain, there is a buzz in the air. After years of having an elderly, staid minister, there is a new, young rector in town. As the book progresses, the reader is introduced to the people of Turham Malpas, their stories, their histories, and become invested in their futures. There's romance, drama, suspense, intrigue, etc, etc.

I absolutely love this book (and the series that go with it). I read it for the first time when I was traveling Europe and it was the first English novel my poor hands had managed to find in weeks, and I was indescribably enthused . . . and this excellent first impression has never died. I don't think I could read the whole series back to back without getting tired of it, but I love to pick one up every now and then. The look into the life of a little British village (and all the drama it contains) is just plain fun. It is filled with quirky characters, well-rounded imperfect main figures, the good, the bad, the mysterious. Yay.

Life is a Three-Ring Circus (The Tales From Grace Chapel Inn Series #21)

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Life is a Three-Ring Circus (The Tales From Grace Chapel Inn Series #21)
Rebecca Kelly
Manufacturer: Guideposts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000BMCAR8

Product Description

The circus is in town, and all the citizens are eager to attend the show. But as with most things that happen in Acorn Hill, events at the circus do not run smoothly. When the baby elephant runs away, the calliope player is injured and the circus is on the verge of closing, it is up to the Howard Sisters to save the day. In their small town, life is a three-ring circus with enough excitement for all.

Village Gossip (Tales from Turnham Malpas)

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Village Gossip (Tales from Turnham Malpas)
Rebecca Shaw
Manufacturer: Orion mass market paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0752833979

The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story

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grade 3 book review
A timely tale with an Iraqi version of the Cinderella story
A great book to expand cultural understanding
Great book for middle eastern students!

The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story
Rebecca Hickox
Manufacturer: Holiday House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0823415139

Amazon.com

What do you get when you take Cinderella's glass slipper and transport it to the Middle East? The Golden Sandal! Rebecca Hickox's delightful retelling of an Iraqi folktale "The Little Red Fish and the Clog of Gold" has all the makings of any good Cinderella story--the mean stepmother, the young oppressed girl, a big shindig, a kind, magical creature who helps the girl dress up for the event, an enamored young man, a lost-and-found shoe, and the promise of a happy ending. However, with the Arabian twist, the girl's name is Maha, the benevolent creature is a fish, the shindig is a "grand henna," and the shoe that ultimately saves Maha from a cruel fate is none other than a golden sandal.

Rebecca Hickox, author of Zorro and Quwi, Per and the Dala Horse and Matreshka, teams up with the well-loved illustrator Will Hillenbrand of The Tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Counting Crocodiles, and the award-winning Wicked Jack to create this fresh twist on a familiar tale--guaranteed to keep youngsters riveted until the satisfying ending when justice prevails! (Ages 4 to 8)

Book Description

Luck and happiness come to a neglected, motherless girl.

Customer Reviews:

grade 3 book review.......2007-05-03

The golden sandal by Rebecca Hickhox

Once there was a girl and her mom died when she was little, so there neigheior maired the dad. So then Maha goes and takes the fish and home. Then she lets one go then her mom gets mad at her. Then she gets clothes from the fish for a ball. Later she gets to sit by the wife because they think she is rich. The next day they find her shoe. Then the man goes to her house and she is locked up in a jailhouse and they hear screaming and they open the door and the sandal fits her.

The theme of this story is Good versus Evil because her stepmother is being mean to her and she gets to marry the Prince and Good wins. The message of this book is `Don't judge a book by its cover', because they think she is ugly but she is not. The genre of this book is fantasy fiction because there is no such thing as a fairy godmother. The audience of this book is for people who are having problems with their families because Cindy has problems with her family.

I like the setting in Iraq because it is usually suppose to be somewhere we don't know about. I love the fairy Godmother because it is suppose to be a fairy, but it is a fish. I love the trickery because the fairy Godfish told the little girl to take a gold coin out of his mouth and pretend she sold it. I love the characters because they don't live a normal life. I love the bad guys because they are really funny. I like the illustrations because they are really cool.

A timely tale with an Iraqi version of the Cinderella story.......2004-03-01

"The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story" is based on the Iraqi folktale of "The Little Red Fish and the Clog of Gold" retold by Rebecca Hickox with illustrations by Will Hillenbrand. Cinderella in this case is a young girl named Maha. Her widowed father is a fisherman who has to be away from home often so Maha has been wishing for him to remarry the kindly neighbor lady who has a daughter of her own. Maha gets her wish, but in the great tradition of such characters her stepmother makes her do all the work and only lets her eat dried dates. Then one day Maha throws a red fish back into the water, sparing its life, and the wish tells her "call for me any time and ask what you will." So it is that the magic fish helps Maha prepare for the big event in town, the Grand Henna and shows her stepsister the penalty for trying to be mean to Maha. Then there is Tariq, the brother of a rich merchant, who finds the golden sandal and searchers for its owner.

Obviously the attraction here is not only the unique variation on the familiar Cinderella theme but the fact that this is an Iraqi story, since "The Golden Sandal" clearly shows that there are some things American kids have in common with Iraqi kids even when a glass slipper becomes a golden sandal. Hillenbrand works in some nice Middle Eastern architecture into his art along with the strategic use of the color red. In the back of the book both the author and the illustrator explain how there research of this story informed the telling and the illustrating of the tale. If you like variations on the familiar Cinderella theme look out for Nina Jaffe's "The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition," Ai-Ling Louie's "Yeh-shen, a Cinderella Tale from China," and Penny Pollock's "Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella," which are just a few of the many versions out there. "The Golden Sandal" is one of the better of these tales out there and it has the added virtue of being timely given world events.

A great book to expand cultural understanding.......2002-02-23

This is a Cinderella type story that takes place in the middle east. It takes some tradional customs and places them in a context that is easy for the western student to understand. A great book for fans of Cinderella, too.

Great book for middle eastern students!.......2001-12-28

Their are not that many books for Middle Eastern students. A Cinderella book was sorely missing and this one will please my students immensely.

Average customer rating:

goddess around the earth
Beautiful Introduction to Goddess Lore
fantastic
Great mythology
Beautiful!

Goddesses: A World of Myth and Magic
Burleigh Muten
Manufacturer: Barefoot Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1841480754

Customer Reviews:

goddess around the earth.......2007-07-24

I beautiful picture book of brief information about the different goddess,but overall a nice book to add to your other "goddess" collection.
Gail Howell

Beautiful Introduction to Goddess Lore.......2006-05-17

Truely lovely illustrations accompany the entries in this book to make it a great introduction to a wide variety of goddesses from all across the world.

fantastic.......2005-07-07

Absolutely stunning illustrations by my favorite living artist, and fantastic information about each goddess. The seller sent the book out very quickly and it was in perfect condition.

Great mythology.......2005-01-15

This is a great book if you're insterested in mythology. Although it could've been more complete, since it gives little information about each goddess, the fact that there are goddesses from so many cultures really makes up for it.
The best has to be the artwork by Rebecca Guay. Sometimes you can't imagine how the goddess is from the lifeless description, but Rebecca makes up for it. Her drawings are excellent and very detailed. I wish there was one for each goddess but, you can't have it all! :)

Beautiful!.......2004-05-24

Beautiful illustrations, coupled with concise, informative overviews of each goddess listed. A wonderful celebration of powerful women, and worth the money simply for the pictures. A good buy for anyone interested in mythology.

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The Toddler's Tale (Maitland Maternity)
Rebecca Winters
Manufacturer: Silhouette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0373650728

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Sad sequel
Miriam Margolyes is Superb!
Straight out of the 1970s feminist fairy tale book
Takes Away the Intrigue of the Original Book
Last night I dreamed . . . . . . .

Rebecca's Tale
Sally Beauman , and Daphne du Maurier
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0061032042
Release Date: 2002-07-30

Book Description

April 1951. It is twenty years since the death of Rebecca, the hauntingly beautiful first wife of Maxim de Winter. Twenty years since Manderley, the de Winter family's estate, was destroyed by fire. But Rebecca's tale is just beginning.

Colonel Julyan, an old family friend, receives an anonymous package concerning Rebecca. An inquisitive young scholar named Terence Gray appears and stirs up the quiet seaside hamlet with disturbing questions about the past -- and with the close ties he soon forges with the Colonel and his eligible daughter, Ellie. Amid bitter gossip and murky intrigue, the trio begins a search for the real Rebecca, and the truth behind her mysterious death.

Customer Reviews:

Sad sequel.......2006-12-16

I mean sad as in pathetic attempt to follow up on the original not as emotionally sad. I was really glad to see I am not the only one who had a difficult time enjoying this book. First just getting through the unneeded dialogue in the beginning was frustrating. I could not tell if I was even "into it". There were characters introduced that were left shallow or absolutely no place for...Lucy...what really was the point there? Might have been good there. Beauman twisted the second Mrs De Winter into somebody I never imagined who was in some ways weak I guess but I feel just plain deranged is closer to the truth. Ms Beauman seems obsessed with bring sexuality preferences into it as well...having one woman confessing to be bisexual...questions arising on Rebecca's preferences...and then another character announcing bringing his boyfriend into the picture! What is up with all of that and was this really needed for heaven's sake. The main character then strikes out on her own to be basically a feminist which due to Rebecca's influence? This book is out of whack and a waste of time. I'd been better off reading Newberry Award books with my daughter.

Miriam Margolyes is Superb!.......2006-05-02

All of the reviews listed refer to the printed book. This is an abridged sound recording of Rebecca's Tale, and the quality of the reader sets it above the norm. Miriam Margolyes is so very subtle with her reading. She developes distinct male and female voices from the very young to the very old. I haven't read the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this delightful performance. It is definitely worth the time to listen!!

Straight out of the 1970s feminist fairy tale book.......2006-04-03

Beauman does well in giving Rebecca's side of the story and in making her plausible and even likeable without making her ordinary. The family history and the secrets surrounding Terence Grey intrigued me although you could say that they don't add anything to the original. But I liked that thread of the story. The treatment of "the second Mrs. de Winter" is shameful although I feel at the very end, when she finally gets to say something (about Rebecca never growing up), it's an interesting thought well worth considering. So maybe the way Beauman treats her is not quite so unjust.
What really annoyed me increasingly, mostly in the last part, is the cheap 1970s-style feminism and general air of political correctness of our own age retrojected onto the 1950s. Alright, so "the second Mrs. de Winter" had no other objective in life than to make her husband happy - so what? The original novel is from the 1930s and reflects the zeitgeist of its era. Beauman's sequel reflects the zeitgeist of HER era but the novel she wrote is set fifty years earlier - and that recipe simply doesn't work out. The worst figure, to my mind, is that cardboard figure of the lesbian academic aunt; straight out of the feminist fairy tale book. She is the least believable and the most predictable character in the book and increasingly, Ellie undergoes the same transformation. Beauman doesn't even shy away from invoking Virginia Woolf with the quote "a room of my own" on the last page. I mean - how cheap and epigonal can you get?!
In short: a novel with 1970s sensibilities that already feel dated and boring today, retrojected onto an era where they hardly belong, by a writer to tries to be "ahead of her time in retrospect", as I would put it. But Beauman is not ahead of her own time; she lags behind.
Just for the record, I am an unmarried and childless academic myself but I wouldn't dream of glorifying these choices, or of ascribing them an ideological quality of being somehow "better" than other ways of living your life as a woman and human being.

Takes Away the Intrigue of the Original Book.......2005-10-06

This story basically kills what made the original novel so great.

Col. Julyan, an extremely minor character in the original book, secretly madly in love with Rebecca 20 years later?

His daughter (who would have been 10 when she died), thinking about nothing except Rebecca?

Mrs. Danvers, still obsessed with Rebecca?

All these people obsessed about a dead woman???

Without the original book, the story would never have stood on its own. It took me a while to even get into it, and the only reason I read it was because the original was so good.

If you truly loved the original book, don't read this book because it will totally destroy that.

Last night I dreamed . . . . . . ........2005-09-18

I was hesitant to read Sally Beauman's sequel to Rebecca (one of my favorite Gothic novels of my youth), but the title made me give it a whirl. I have mixed feelings about it. The first chapters seemed choppy and draggy. Beauman writing as Rebecca was much more reflective of DuMaurier than Beaurman writing as Julyan or Gray in the first part of the book and Ellie in the ending part. If all of the book had been developed around the diary, it would have been more intriguing to me.

I didn't really give a hoot about Colonel Julyan - he seemed just a grouchy old man. I didn't develop an affinity for his daughter, Ellie. Terence Gray's character didn't appeal to me either. Once he is told in so many words the truth of his parentage, he is almost booted out of the plot until the ending pages. The Briggs sisters serve their purpose, as do Frith and Jack Favell. I came to loathe the second Mrs. De Winter. It just seemed to take forever to get down to the real nitty-gritty of Rebecca's Tale.

However, others did appeal. Rebecca, stunning, elusive, cruel, bitingly intelligent, sexually adventurous femme fatale with a surprising parentage herself and the forever damned Mrs. Danvers who lived and breathed for Rebecca, even after Rebecca's death grabbed and kept me to the end.

Sally Beauman used the original settings plus more, such as Manderly, the boathouse, the cove, the woods of Manderly, Rebecca's London flat, and added Rebecca's childhood homes to develop the story and I liked revisiting all the familiar sites from Rebecca.

I have always wanted to know what Rebecca would have to say for herself and the diary satisfied that desire. Mrs. Danvers' character was fascinating, from the first tidbits about her younger years to the end. The De Winter family's background helped make Rebecca's story more dimensional and believable.

I was glad everything was not spelled out though. I wanted to know more, but not everything about Rebecca! Leave something to the imagination. . . . and Sally Beauman did.

I'm still thinking about it a couple of days after finishing it so that tells you something. I guess I'll try more Sally Beauman and reread DuMaurier.

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